Beautiful Chinese Fabrics Appear At Milan Fashion Week

The bright and fresh "half seeing" and the elegant and light "ethereal" two traditional Chinese colors collide, and the gentle charm of the Chinese cheongsam and the elegant charm of the western dress are integrated... Recently, the fabric of Keqiao District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, the "International Textile Capital", was made into exquisite Chinese clothing by Chinese and foreign designers, and made a stunning appearance at Milan Fashion Week in Italy.

From September 19 to 25, Milan Fashion Week will be held in the Italian Fashion City in the spring and summer of 2024. On the opening day, the Milan Fashion Week "Keqiao Day" was held in the courtyard of Isinbaldi Palace, which has a history of more than 500 years. A "Keqiao Excellence Show" with the theme of "continuous research, create a better future" impressed the audience.

　　 When Chinese fabrics meet international design

This exhibition is the first time that this traditional Chinese textile industry center participated in Milan Fashion Week. It was jointly created by four designers from China and Italy. Designers told reporters that Keqiao fabric has a unique texture and can well present their design concept.

Ling Yali, associate professor and designer of China Academy of Fine Arts, showed the clothes in this show, which were inspired by Chinese classical culture. The creative design series with the theme of "Classic Birds, Heroes and Guns" integrates elements such as phoenix, fish and water into clothing modeling.

Ling Yali introduced to the reporter that China's ink painting art has a long history, and her design this time focuses on the gradual change of color. She uses the non degreased silk fabric produced by Keqiao Enterprise, and uses the manual hanging dyeing method to make the clothing color show a more transparent effect, creating a smooth Chinese cultural charm; In addition, her design also integrates the characteristics of Chinese cheongsam and the fashion style of western fashion, and organically combines Chinese and western aesthetics with silk fabrics.

Chinese designer Qi Bin's series of works "Rough Waves", inspired by the huge waves, highlights the bold and exaggerated style, and brings unique visual impact to the audience. According to him, this series uses the fabrics made of natural materials such as silk and wool produced by Keqiao, together with the filling and quilting process, to show the sculptural wave shape.

Foreign designers participating in the "Keqiao Show" said that Keqiao fabrics not only meet their design and creation needs, but also create more opportunities for Chinese enterprises to cooperate deeply with the international fashion industry.

Italian designer Angelo Cruciani chose a printed fabric designed and developed by Keqiao fabric manufacturer using digital printing technology to demonstrate the visual impact of the work in a wild and rebellious style.

Crusiani told reporters that he has been in contact with Keqiao fabrics for more than 20 years. "In Keqiao, I can always find fabrics of very good quality". He said that Milan is one of the best platforms for the international fashion industry to achieve business interaction, "which is very important for Chinese suppliers, especially textile manufacturers".

"Italian designers need the Chinese market and Chinese factories, and China also needs to refer to our design and luxury development history in the fashion field." He said, "I believe that the fashion industry cooperation between our two countries will become closer and closer."

Italian designer Alberto Zambeli said that some of the Keqiao fabrics he used came from bamboo and corn, which highlighted the texture, "more suitable for my abstract design and decoration ideas." On the show, his works used special threads and twill texture, pearl like natural luster to create a "soft sculpture" like outline for clothing. Over the past two decades, Zambeli has visited China for many times to carry out cooperation in the clothing field. "For me, China is like a second home."

　　 International cooperation boosts Keqiao's industrial upgrading

A total of 10 fabric enterprises from Keqiao participated in the event. They demonstrated the core competitiveness and vitality of China's garment industry with their unique technology, style and creativity. According to the interviewed enterprises, Keqiao is exploring fields other than traditional fabrics and promoting the transformation and upgrading of the design, manufacturing, consumption and service of the clothing industry with a new orientation of "technology, fashion and green".

Shao Lingbin, the general manager of Zhejiang Dashu Textile Technology Co., Ltd., introduced that the production technology of acetic acid fabrics, which has become very popular in the clothing industry in recent years, was monopolized by Japan in the past, but Zhejiang Dashu broke the monopoly through active research and development, and became a cooperative supplier of acetic acid fabrics for many first-line brands at home and abroad. It is reported that the internationally renowned brands they have cooperated with include Balenciaga, Givenchy, etc.

"Keqiao, as the largest distribution center and R&D center of the global textile industry, many of our new materials are exerting more and more influence in the fashion end, supply chain end and brand circle," said Shao Lingbin.

Du Jiexin, general manager of Shaoxing Jialilong Textile Co., Ltd., said that they brought bamboo fiber fabrics to the show. Bamboo pulp fiber is a kind of recycled environment-friendly fabric extracted from bamboo, which has antibacterial, easy care and other functional characteristics, meeting the current consumer needs; At the same time, the fabric can not only reflect the meaning of Chinese traditional culture, but also fit in with the environmental protection concept of international attention. It is the representative product of the enterprise to the international market.

As the world's largest textile trade distribution center, Keqiao's economic and trade network covers 210 countries and regions. Nearly 25% of the world's textile products are traded there, with an annual turnover of more than 330 billion yuan. Promoting the local textile and clothing industry to be in line with the international standards will help Keqiao promote industrial upgrading and deepen into the broader international market.

Mario Boselli, president of the Italian China Council Foundation, called himself an "old fashionista" with rich experience in the field of fashion clothing. He said that he had been to Keqiao many times, witnessed the gradual development of Keqiao fashion industry, and was also conquered by the local customs of Keqiao.

Milan Fashion Week, together with New York, Paris and London Fashion Week, is called the world's four major international fashion weeks. Boselli said that Keqiao chose Milan Fashion Week, "which is our pride and right choice". He said that he expected "Keqiao Day" to become a regular activity of Milan Fashion Week every year and play a better role as a bridge for Sino Italian fashion cooperation in the future. (Reporter He Fei)

(Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph)